FILE - In this May 22, 2016 file photo, Justin Bieber performs at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Bieber walked off the stage during his show in Manchester, England, Sunday after some fans ignored his request to stop screaming as he was trying to talk to the crowd in between songs. Bieber returned to the stage and told the crowd he’d stop talking and just do his musical set, because he said “Manchester just can’t handle it." (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

China banned Justin Bieber for his ‘bad behavior’

Actions

0

Actions

0

July 21, 2017 03:33 PM EDT

China has banned Justin Bieber from performing there due to the pop star's “bad behavior” on and off stage, according to our affiliate WJLA.

“Justin Bieber is a talented singer but is also a controversial young foreign idol,” the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture said in a statement explaining why it would not approve Bieber’s gigs, WJLA reported Friday.

“We understand that there are records of his bad behavior, whether it is in his private life abroad or on stage…” the bureau added. “His inappropriate manner has caused public discontent.”

“In order to regulate the market order of show business in China and purify the market environment, it was decided that performers [who display] inappropriate behavior will not be welcomed.”

A source at Shanghai’s cultural authority, meanwhile, told CNN that they would likely follow Beijing’s lead and not authorize Bieber’s concerts there.

Twitter users on Friday weighed in on the decision, with many poking fun at Bieber’s reported blacklisting.

WJLA reported that Bieber is including several Asian countries in his Purpose World Tour later this year but will not visit China.

Bieber reportedly caused controversy during a 2013 stop in China after he was photographed getting carried up the Great Wall of China by his bodyguards.

The Canadian singer was then arrested in Miami Beach, FL in 2014 for driving under the influence (DUI).

Bieber ultimately told authorities he consumed alcohol, smoked marijuana and took prescription drugs before his arrest.China has barred other musical acts from appearing there, including rock groups Maroon 5 and Oasis.

The aforementioned performers voiced support for Tibet’s independence from China, a sore subject with the Chinese government.